Drudge has a page or so on Clark that seems to be both extraordinary and damning to any kind of consistency. Should he become the Democratic candidate, these matters will count. Perhaps they will not in the primary, unless, of course, he wins in New Hampshire, then you can count on Dean going after his jugular. Apparently, Clark testified before the House Armed Services Committee on September 26, 2002. Here is a sample, Drudge has more:

"And, I want to underscore that I think the United States should not categorize this action as preemptive. Preemptive and that doctrine has nothing whatsoever to do with this problem. As Richard Perle so eloquently pointed out, this is a problem that’s longstanding. It’s been a decade in the making. It needs to be dealt with and the clock is ticking on this."

"I think there’s no question that, even though we may not have the evidence as Richard [Perle] says, that there have been such contacts [between Iraq and al Qaeda]. It’ s normal. It’s natural. These are a lot of bad actors in the same region together. They are going to bump into each other. They are going to exchange information. They’re going to feel each other out and see whether there are opportunities to cooperate. That’s inevitable in this region, and I think it’s clear that regardless of whether or not such evidence is produced of these connections that Saddam Hussein is a threat."